The Toronto Raptors need their T-Rex to come up big
Long gone are the days when the low-post brute ruled the land. Back-to-the-basket big men are an endangered species on the brink of extinction. They’re a thinning herd with a shrinking habitat, almost exclusively found running with bench units and struggling for scraps.
But it’s not merely about that style becoming outmoded. The NBA’s small-ball revolution has more to do with skill and versatility than actual downsizing. Centers who can’t space the floor or switch on multiple positions muck up the offense and get exposed on the other end. It appeared Jonas Valanciunas fell into this phylum. Although still a starter for Toronto, he averaged the fewest minutes per game of his career. The Lithuanian big man is the lumbering T-Rex among his smaller, more agile Raptor teammates.
However, if Game 1 was any indication, Valanciunas has a huge part to play for Toronto to have a chance against Cleveland. He led the Raptors in scoring through regulation on Tuesday night, finishing with 21 points and 21 rebounds in 34 minutes and a plus-minus of -3.
Head coach Dwane Casey praised his center after the game, according to The Globe and Mail. “I thought Jonas played really well. We made them pay for the small lineup. He’s got that advantage as far as his post-ups, his tip-ins, his driving to the basket, getting to the free-throw line, and rebounding. He did a heck of a job at that position.”
In the past, Cleveland opting for a small-ball look with Kevin Love at center would have made Valanciunas obsolete. The Cavaliers played Valanciunas off the floor in 2017 and made him practically irrelevant in 2016. But evolutions happen. Valanciunas posted a much-improved Defensive Box Plus-Minus this season and added a 3-point shot to his repertoire. While he only took 74 attempts from beyond the arc, he canned 40.5 percent of them. Just having that capability makes him much more effective.
While he still lacks quickness, it’s not as paramount for this series as in years’ past. This iteration of Cleveland is different. They no longer have the offensive dynamism of Kyrie Irving, so there’s less necessity for the fleet-of-foot or superior athleticism to protect the rim. The Raptors will need Valanciunas’ rebounding to battle against a frontline rotation of Love, LeBron James, and Tristan Thompson. He’s Toronto’s only player with a rebounding rate above 15 percent this season.
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The Raptors couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch of Game 1, bricking 19 of 24 attempts in the fourth quarter, including four misses during their final possession. All the wasted, potentially game-swinging tip-ins aside, it shouldn’t blurry the fact Valanciunas provided them the opportunities to win with his fight on the glass. His eight offensive boards were more than the rest of the team combined.
On a better night, they would have put the game away and heralded Valanciunas’ efforts. Hopefully, someone reminds him of that. Toronto needs their big man to play like it’s the Jurassic period to beat Cleveland.